Authors Note: Thanks to my beta for proofing this.

Disclaimer: Halo, Sangheili, Rtas, Thel/Arbiter and other canon characters belong to Bungie Studios/343 Industries. However, Original Characters, like Zeno, belong to me.

Chapter 3: Finding More Pieces

Zeno waited about thirty minutes before quietly opening the door and checked on Sani. Good, looks like he had no trouble falling asleep. He thought with a smile as he carefully closed the door again. Sani seemed to be adjusting to staying here well so far and Zeno hoped he could help him out more. To do so further though, required him to speak to a certain commander he knew.

While he was tired himself from the long day, Zeno knew he would not be able to get any sleep until he spoke to Rtas. Hoping it was at least close to morning on Sanghelios, Zeno walked to the communications console "Sesai," he called out, hoping the AI wasn't still peeved at him for earlier.

"Yes, Ambassador?" The blue eastern dragon said, a hint of annoyance in her tone.

Great, she is still a bit angry, he thought, though he couldn't keep the smirk on his face. "I would like to make a very long distance call to Sanghelios," he said, following up with the appropriate authorization code and the address he wanted.

Sesai flickered for a couple of seconds as she inputted the data. "Call going out, Ambassador. Do keep in mind that due to the distance, there will be a delay."

"You are not going to try to sabotage my call are you?"

The AI looked insulted. "It is against protocol to tamper with official calls, Ambassador, you know that."

"Just checkin."

Sesai huffed and disappeared, Zeno snickering a bit before the voice of a tired, and slightly annoyed, Rtas 'Vadum was heard.

-Hello?-

"Hello, Commander," Zeno said cheerfully. "I hope I did not wake you."

There was a faint grumble. –I was about to get up anyway.-

Yeah, right. Zeno thought, having to suppress another snicker.

-What is it, Zeno?- Rtas continued. - It is not like you to call me like this.-

"It is in regards to one of your troops, Commander."

-Which one?-

"Sani."

There was faint rustling, or was that static, before Rtas spoke again. –What happened this time?- Rtas' voice sounded a lot more alert and his tone was one of concern. Zeno was bothered by the 'this time' part of his question. It almost sounded like Sani was at least partly responsible for his trouble.

Let's not jump to conclusions, Zeno told himself as he said. "He was found stowing away in a crate from a supply ship that just arrived today at the Cairo. Gave the security teams quite a start and he holed up in a supply room. I was told about the situation by the station AI and I was able to calm him down and get him to come out."

There was a heavy sigh. -Where is he now?-

"My guest room, sleeping."

-I am surprised he is not in the brig.-

"I felt it was not needed, commander. He was a lot more frightened than threatening. However, I do not know much about his background beyond that he is assigned to your ship and that he was trying to get away from something, or someone."

-Someone.- Rtas confirmed with another heavy sigh.

"Sir?"

-Sani is a good troop, one of the best snipers on the ship. Unfortunately, he somehow ended up in a bad situation with his roommate.-

Though Rtas would not see it, Zeno nodded: it was as he was starting to suspect as such himself. "If they did not get along then why not separate them?" he asked.

-It is a bit more complicated than that, Zeno. These two have known each other for some time prior to getting drafted and at some point I suspect they got more intimately involved with each other.-

This was ending up worse than Zeno thought: while he didn't know much about domestic abuse on Sangheili side of things, he had read plenty on the human side. If Sani was in such a relationship, it would explain a lot of his behavior. "Semos?" he asked, for clarifications sake.

-I am fairly certain his roommate, Runi, is: Sani…I am not so sure. Regardless, Sani never went into the more…intimate…details when he came to me with issues. Usually only came to me when he was choked, beaten…those kinds of things. I suspect worse was happening, but I cannot do anything about it if he does not tell me.-

"So basically, Sani was driven to desperation," Zeno said, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice. "I am surprised you did not do more to curb the behavior, commander."

-There was little I 'could' do, Zeno.- Rtas said with another sigh. –You know we have no laws making such a thing a crime. I have tried having Runi transferred to another ship, but either there were no openings or the Shipmaster took one look at his record and refused him. I would see about having Sani transferred instead, but I would rather keep the kid close until I know he is going to be OK. Unless…-

"Unless what, commander?"

-Zeno, I know the Shadow of Intent will not be returning to the Sol system for another four months. That should give Sani time to calm down and get back some self-confidence.-

"Provided your Second Master does not decide to come early to see if he is here."

Rtas snorted. –Considering Second Master Ruro did not bother to inform me of Sani's disappearance from the ship in the first place, it is plain he does not care about his situation. Thus I highly doubt he will even bother looking for him, writing him off as a coward.-

Zeno snarled at that. "But that could cause problems with his keep."

-I intend to inform his keep of his situation.-

"No offense, commander, but would that not just make things worse?"

-The Hilvum keep is…different, Zeno. They take care of their own, not shove them away when they get into situations like this. It is strange that Sani did not go to them first….-

"He did admit he wished he had done so to me, commander."

-I see. Anyway, you are to watch over him. Do what you can for him.-

Zeno's eyes widened at that. Yes, he was planning on watching over him until they figured something out, like preparing to have Sani returned to his keep, but this sounded permanent. "Commander, I have a full plate as…."

-Do not give me that Brute dung, Zeno. I know things have slowed down considerably over there. Besides, you could use more contact with our kind.-

"Commander! I…"

-That is an order, Sub-Commander Zeno 'Ribal. I am going back to sleep, now. Signing out.-

Before Zeno could speak again, the connection was cut off. "Dammit," Zeno groaned, sitting down heavily on his couch. "Did you forget why I wanted to isolate myself, commander?"

"Problem, Ambassador?" Sesai asked, reappearing over the console.

"It seems I am going to have a permanent house guest, Sesai."

"Aww, but you seemed so eager to keep him, Ambassador."

Zeno snarled, realizing he walked into that one. "Sesai."

"Yes, Ambassador?"

"Shuddup."

The next morning…

It had been the best sleep he has had in months, if not at least a year.

Sani stretched a bit, tempted to just stay in bed and savor its warmth, its non-judgmental embrace. He knew though that Zeno was likely had breakfast waiting for him, so he slipped out of bed and put the shirt Zeno loaned him back on. The pants were a bit wrinkled, but there was nothing that could be done about that right now.

"Good morning," he heard Zeno say when he stepped out of the room a moment later. "Did you sleep well?"

"Wonderfully," Sani replied, turning to face him. His breath hitched in his throat when he saw what the ambassador chose to wore today: while the pants were the same style, though a different color, he opted to wear a vest instead of a shirt. This exposed much of his torso and Sani liked what he was seeing. It is not polite to stare, he reminded himself, quickly redirecting his gaze to Zeno's face. While he had long grown comfortable with being a sebo, someone who went either way, this was the ambassador for spirits sake! He likely had a mate at home on Sanghelios, or two….

"That is good to hear," Zeno said. "Breakfast arrived a moment ago, if you are hungry."

In response, Sani's stomach audibly growled and Sani blushed with embarrassment. Zeno laughed, whether at his noisy stomach or his embarrassment, he didn't know.

"Well, I guess we know your stomach's vote," he said with a smile, gesturing for Sani to go ahead. "Just take care with the bacon: it looks like they overcooked it today so it may fall apart before you can get it into your mouth."

Sani nodded as he sat at the table and dug in, Zeno sitting across from him and starting on his own plate. Neither spoke, both preferring to focus on eating. The bacon was indeed overcooked, to the point where they both had to drink water in order to get it down their throats.

"I will file a complaint about the bacon later," Zeno grumbled as he finished. "I know some humans like it crispy, but this is ridiculous: meat should not be the consistency of ash."

Sani giggled a bit at his comment. When Zeno raised a brow at him, he blushed shyly, to which Zeno smiled. "Well, good to see you are in good spirits," Zeno said. "I have news."

"Wha-what is that?" Sani asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

"The commander has ordered me to take care of you and to figure out a solution to your problem."

Sani blinked, confused. "Commander…?"

Zeno blinked a moment in turn, confused himself by Sani's confusion. "Oh!" Zeno said when it apparently clicked. "Rtas."

"Oh…I did not know the shipmaster could order an ambassador around…."

"Rtas is not just a shipmaster, but commander of Special Operations," Zeno explained. "Military wise, my rank is sub-commander of Special Operations, so he outranks me there."

"Ah, I understand now." Sani had assumed Rtas had given up his Special Operations rank. "D-did he say anything else?"

Zeno seemed conflicted with himself for a moment. Finally, he sighed and said. "He told me what he knew about your problem."

Sani immediately turned his head away, feeling a bit betrayed. "Wha-Why did he…."

"Because he knew I would need to know in order to help you," Zeno said. "I will also need to know anything you have not told him."

The very thought of telling anyone just how bad….

"No, I cannot…" Sani said, shaking his head.

"I am not saying you need to tell me right now," Zeno reassured him. "We have four months until the Shadow of Intent returns to this system. So we have some time for you to get comfortable enough to tell me."

Four months…, Sani thought. Four months of freedom before I end up in that hell again. "Y-you will do everything you can to keep me from going back right?"

"You have my word that I will look at every angle, every possibility, to try to make it so you never have to go back to that situation again."

What can I do? Zeno thought as they sat in silence at the table. This kind of thing is Ella's gig, not mine. She is the one with all the psychological knowledge. Ella, unfortunately, was back on Sanghelios, tending to her firstborn along with Rtas. Lucky bastards. Zeno, the commander would not have put this responsibility on you if he did not feel you would figure something out, he told himself with a sigh. And figure something out I will, once I have as much information as possible.

He realized that may take time, depending on how long it took for Sani to open up to him. If it was more than just physical abuse as Rtas suspected, then it might take a long time indeed for him to find out most of the details. I need to build his trust, he thought. The more he trusts me, the more likely he will tell me everything. There was no guarantee of that though, Miko never telling him about how violent his keep was toward semos was proof of that.

Miko…. Zeno crushed his eyes closed, forcing the memories and the grief back. He could not afford to shed tears in front of Sani: Sani needed someone that was strong both physically and mentally. Still, it was hard not to think of the past….

"Ambassador?" Sani's voice drew him back to the present before his mind had gone too far. "Are you alright?"

"I am fine," Zeno said quickly. "Just, thinking about my own past." His eyes widened slightly when he got an idea. If he told Sani what he went through over the years, maybe Sani would relate enough to open up about his own troubles.

"You know…," he began, leaning on the table. "I was in a somewhat similar situation as you are, many years ago."

"I…kind of doubt that, Ambassador," Sani said softly, though Zeno did catch the light of interest in his eyes.

"First off, you can just call me 'Zeno'," Zeno corrected gently. "Especially when we are in my quarters."

"O-OK…."

"Second, yes, I was. I was only a minor, fresh out of war college and on my first ship, first campaign, everything. Problem was, was that the field master I was assigned under hated me."

"Wha-why?"

"He hated semos and other, what he considered to be, imperfect Sangheili." From the widening of Sani's eyes, he knew he definitely had Sani's attention now. "During a mission, he tried to get me killed a number of times. When I proved to be too resourceful to be killed off that way, he resorted to dirty tricks. He drugged my water, sabotaged my armor, stole my weapons and then left me behind on a human controlled planet."

"By the spirits…."

"I wandered that forsaken place for about a month before I was found by a squad of Special Operations Sangheili. There was initial concern that I was a deserter, but that got cleared up quickly. Though I was in bad shape, I assisted them with their mission: nearly cost me my life in the end. The SpecOps commander of the time was impressed with my abilities and had me transferred to his unit, where I remain to this day."

"That is interesting, Ambass…er Zeno, but I do not see how your situation and mine are similar."

"I admit it is likely quite a stretch, but the point is that no matter how bad the situation you are in is, there is always a way out. You just have to find the right path, or meet the right people. That SpecOps team was my path to a new life. I do not know if I am meant to be the one to help you with the same, Sani, but I intend to try."

Zeno took him out shopping once it was clear the conversation was over. Sani honestly did not know what to say then anyway, and still didn't as Zeno led him to the market place. What Zeno told him about himself was in the back of his mind and there was something about Zeno himself that made him want to trust him. Yet there was that fear, the fear that this was all a ruse, all a ploy to get him to relax so Zeno could do the same to him as Runi did.

However everything he was seeing, all that he was hearing, and all that he was feeling deep within himself was that Zeno would never harm him. I have known him for less than a day, Sani told himself. It is impossible to know for certain so soon.

Or was it?

The deciding factor came when Zeno got distracted with a human asking him a question. Zeno had told him to explore, but advised him not to go too far. Sani wandered a little, making sure to stay within eye sight of Zeno, checking out some of the other shops. It didn't take long for him to be noticed by someone less then pleasant: one of the few warriors Zeno warned him about last night.

"What do we have here?" a voice snarled behind him, making his blood freeze. Slowly he turned around to see an ultra looking down his snout at him. "Why I do believe you are the little coward that was running about the station yesterday."

It is not Runi, he reminded himself, straightening himself up as tall as he could. "Who are you to judge me?" he said boldly, though it was taking every ounce of will to do so.

The ultra laughed, then shoved him. Sani lost his footing and landed heavily on the floor. "I should slay you were you lay for your cowardice, boy," the ultra snorted, reaching for his sword.

No..no..NO! Sani started to scramble to his feet, completely forgetting about anything else but to escape.

Then something dark slammed into the ultra. The ultra taken completely off guard, was sent crashing to the floor. 'Who dares!" the warrior growled, as he got to his feet. "Who dares stop me from doing a warrior's duty!"

"'Warrior's duty'?" a familiar voice growled. Sani looked up to see Zeno standing between them. "Do not make me sick with such drivel.

"Ambassador!" Whatever gusto the warrior had quickly evaporated. "Wha-what are you doing with this…."

"You know nothing of this man's situation and thus have no right to judge him. You also apparently did not get the word that this Sangheili is under my protection. If anyone, and I mean anyone, harms him they will have to deal with me. Understood?"

The ultra looked like he was going to say something several times in protest before finally giving up. "Understood, Ambassador…," he grumbled before walking away.

Zeno watched him for a moment before looking at Sani. "Are you alright?" he asked, offering a hand.

"Yes," Sani said, accepting his hand. "Thank you…."

"Hopefully that will be the only one to try to bother you."

"I hope so too…."

Sani found himself replaying what happened in his head over and over again for the next hour. The ultra had been fully armored and armed, while Zeno was unarmed and wearing only civilian clothing: if a fight had actually broken out, Zeno would have been at a severe disadvantage. Yet, the ultra had backed down quickly: was it out of respect for this title, the weight of authority in his voice, something else, or a combination?

Either way, Zeno had willingly put his life on the line for him. That, along with the other acts of kindness he had shown him so far, helped Sani make his decision. "Zeno…," he said softly after they returned to Zeno's quarters that afternoon.

"Yes, Sani?" Zeno replied, a smile on his face.

"I…." Sani hung his head and shifted his feet, his hearts hammering in his chest. "I want to tell you something…."

Zeno was clearly both surprised and intrigued. "And what is that?"

"Everything."